


Fairest Of Them All

by SereneQueen92



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Deception, F/F, Original Character(s), Poison Apples, Princess Emma Swan, Swan Queen Supernova (Once Upon a Time)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-09-19 06:06:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20326336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SereneQueen92/pseuds/SereneQueen92
Summary: Queen Regina seeks the fairest of them all.  Who is it, and for what purpose?





	1. Seeing Her

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Fairest Of Them All [Art]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20501231) by [cesibear](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cesibear/pseuds/cesibear). 

Regina sat on her throne alone in her castle until she was struck by a thought. Slowly, she got up and strode over to a large round mirror.  
“Genie in the Magic Mirror, come forth with your wisdom”, she commanded imperiously. The man in the mirror slowly appeared in a cloud of blue smoke before speaking.   
“what do you wish to know, Your Majesty?”, he inquired, ready to serve his queen.  
“Mirror, mirror on the wall; who is the fairest of them all?”, she asked with confidence, knowing she would eventually get what she wanted.   
“hair black as ebony, skin white and snow, and lips red as the rose; she hails in yonder palace as the fairest of them all”, the mirror responded.  
“Snow White, simpering useless brat”, Regina spat. She hated her former step daughter to the point of banishment. Eventually, it would come to light that Snow would meet her true love, Prince David; known otherwise as Prince Charming.   
“She prepares to give birth, and in eighteen years’ time the child will be considered to be the fairest of them all”, the mirror added. Regina pondered for a moment before relaxing. Sure enough, word soon reached Regina of the birth of a child. The child, she learned was christened Emma, and Regina hoped that in eighteen years’ time her search for the fairest of them all would be over. The people of the kingdom knew of the relationship between Regina and Snow, and therefore if Regina had enacted her plans towards the current fair one, she would be seen as a true pariah regardless of her title. The term Evil Queen that Snow had given her would be as true as ever if she didn’t wait. Though the people saw Regina as an acceptable queen they still had a certain degree of respect for Snow. It was this act that led some to wonder why she banished her stepdaughter from the castle at 18. The countdown had officially begun, and Regina felt as though she needed to plan meticulously if she wanted everything to work correctly upon meeting Emma. With this in mind, Regina sealed herself and her servants in the palace only allowing herself to be heard through the proclamations given by her representatives and messengers. In that time, Regina also made sure to keep an unusual list of items in stock. No one knew what they could be used for, so no one paid it any mind when they saw castle staff hunting for these strange items. While she may have sealed herself away, Regina made certain to keep up her radiant and beautiful appearance. Though after the time she spent sealed away, one would assume she would appear haggard and decrepit.   
Around the 14th year of waiting in the far- off castle, young girl sat up in her chambers with a somber look in her eyes. The look soon turned to anger when the chamber doo opened. Since it was mid day, Emma knew she would only have one visitor.  
“Mother” Emma began. She had lost her patience with the woman and with her own circumstances in the situation. “Why won’t you let me leave the castle?”.  
“Because Emma, we’ve been over this”, Snow White sighed. “The Evil Queen is still out there, and there is no telling what she is planning”. Emma had heard many stories about the infamous evil queen, but she couldn’t figure out why she was considered evil when nothing had happened since Snow’s banishment.  
“Oh, lighten up, Mother”, the rebellious teen spat. “So she kicked you out of your castle. I have heard stories of parents doing that when their children reached a certain age”,  
“Emma, please understand. That castle and that kingdom are my birthright. She probably killed my father too”, snow white said as she mumbled the last part.  
“You spent all your time in this castle too blind to see the plight of your subjects. Some of them on the brink of death unable to survive because you chose to overtax them to fund these so-called protections. Even dad’s seen it in his travels and again, this so-called Evil Queen hasn’t even tried anything. Are you seriously that angry with her that you can’t accept the fact that people change?”  
“Emma, I’ve heard talk that she has been hunting me because I am the fairest of them all”. Emma cut her off with a scoff.  
“Oh really? Are you really so vain that you think so highly of yourself and you think she would kill you for something so superficial?  
“I am the fairest of them all, Emma. I have been told as much many times, and some day you will b as well. It’s in your blood”, Snow retorts as she saunters out of the room. This created a rift between mother and daughter to the point where they ceased all conversation. At the same time, Emma wondered about this evil queen and what made her so evil. It was in this pondering that she found herself dwelling on a past memory

Flashback 

A young Emma of about five was sitting up in her chambers as she had been for the past several years when her mother could be heard outside her door.   
“David, you know better. I can’t just let her leave. The Evil Queen is still out there at large”, Snow responded to something her husband had said.   
“Snow, I know you’re angry, or afraid, or whatever you are of her, but do we have to suffer for it?”, David reasoned “She hadn’t done anything since you were banished, and if that is the worst thing to happen to you I’d say you’re doing fine”,  
“What do you mean we?”, Snow shot back.   
“Snow, Emma has been stuck in her room day in and day out for five years. I never get to see her thanks to all these patrols you keep sending me on. Also, let’s not forget the state of the kingdom. You keep taxing them like this they, will either revolt or die”, David shot back before walking away leaving snow there alone.  
“At least they’ll be safe”, she whispered


	2. Wandering in the Woods

Four years later, Emma did truly grow into her beautiful self. Regina didn’t know exactly what she looked like but she was eager to enact her plan. As was the case eighteen years ago, Regina stood before the large looking glass and spoke the chant.   
“Mirror, Mirror on the wall who is the fairest of them all?”  
“As I stated long ago, the young princess white as snow”. Regina cut him off with a scowl believing he was about to give her news that Snow white was still considered to be the fairest of them all. “grows old as her flame loses glow, but hair of gold and eyes of green, the fairest man has ever seen”. Regina smiled at this because now, she could enact her plan.  
“Guards!”, she commanded imperiously. “Bring me a huntsman. One who is adept at sneaking and deception necessary to capture his prey”. Regina sat back on her throne with a smile, knowing her plan was slowly coming together. It would be a decent five days before her men returned with the huntsman she sought. The man was brought before the queen’s throne and forced to his knees.   
“Your Majesty, why have you brought me here? I am merely a hunter who does so for survival”, the man protested.  
“well then, Huntsman, consider this an act of survival, for if you fail me”, The queen was cut off by the huntsman’s reluctant agreement.   
“I understand, Your Majesty. Now who do you want me to kill?”  
“Go to yonder castle of white, lure its queen out with talks of peace between our kingdoms, take her deep into the forest”, the queen was cut off again.  
“And kill her. I understand”. the queen sighed in frustration at the interruption.  
“Kill her, lose her, I don’t care as long as she is away from the castle for an extended time. She clearly usurped that kingdom and keeps it in a tight grasp. It is time those people saw how a good queen ruled.”. The huntsman bowed before exiting the palace. On foot, the trek lasted about a week especially in the heavy armor he had to wear. Along the way, he began to ponder just what landed him in this situation.

Flashback  
“Sarah what were you thinking? We can’t afford to keep him. Why would you carry him to term even after I told you to get rid of him?”  
“James, I’m sorry. I just had faith that the powers that be would find a way for us to keep him”, the woman called Sarah pleaded with her husband. James snatched the young baby out of his wife’s hands before turning toward the door. Turning ack around with a thought, James spoke again.   
“You can at least give him a name. We shall engrave it on a medallion so that whoever finds him knows what to call him”. Sarah smiled as she had already thought of this. She produced a medallion and placed it around the boy’s neck before speaking softly.   
“Graham, be strong wherever you may end roam”. She placed the medallion around grahams neck before James quickly carried him away. James eventually traveled until he found a cave in which he placed Graham. Graham would later find the company of wolves learning to hunt. As he grew, he wondered where he came from, and even questioned the medallion around his neck. Eventually, he found the maker of that piece, who then pointed him in the direction of his parents. Graham would eventually seek out his parents to learn his origins. When he found them, they were laying on their deathbeds. He asked them why they gave him up, and with their last breaths, they told him the tale as well as the fact that they regretted doing so.

End Flashback

Eventually, the huntsman made it to the castle.   
“who goes there?”, asked one of the castle guards with authority.  
“I am Graham. Queen Regina sent me with a message of peace. I have been asked to bring Queen Snow to her castle”. The guard seemed to ponder this before Graham showed a piece of rolled up parchment. The guard soon made his way down to the front entrance.  
“Wait here”, he commanded taking the piece of parchment. “I will present this to her majesty, Queen Snow and she can decide what she will do”. The guard made his way to the courtyard where he knew court was in fact was in fact taking place. Snow had just denied a local villager funds to repair his home after a powerful storm before noticing the guard.  
“What is it, Yardley, can you not see we are in the middle of court?”, snow asked not too pleased at the interruption. The paranoia and isolation turned her into a cold ruler that even her husband, David chose to keep his distance from. It was for this reason he chose to spend most of his time on patrol.   
“Your Majesty, please”, the guard begged. “There is a man in the front entrance who says he is here on behalf of Queen Regina. He says she wants peace, and she sent him with a message “, Yardley finished. Snow quickly grabbed the letter as she slowly began to read.

Dearest Snow,  
I hope you are well and that your kingdom thrives. I want to start by apologizing for usurping your castle. I simply felt that you being of proper age, you should go out and experience the world. I still plan to rule until my death and in that time, I wanted to make sure you were prepared. In that time, you married a prince and found your own kingdom. I do not begrudge you for this, and yet you still begrudge me. It is for this reason I wish to invite you to my castle to discuss peace and trade negations between our two kingdoms. If you do not wish to partake in this venture, send Graham back alone with word. However, if you do, he is more than willing to accompany you. Do not come with your own guards because my army will see this as an act of war. 

Sincerely yours,  
Her Majesty, Queen Regina Of the Dark Kingdom

Snow thought and pondered this letter. It was true that all Regina did was send her away from her castle and since then, she hadn’t done anything else malicious. After, much deliberation, snow allowed the guard to lead her to the front to meet with Graham. After proper introductions, Snow allowed Graham to take the lead as they exited the castle. It had been about a days-worth of travel before snow realized she was not used to traveling on foot. Since she had lived off the land after being removed from her castle. She hadn’t really needed to do so after finding her prince. Eventually a storm had begun, and Snow and Graham decided to take refuge in a cave during the night. This gave graham the opportunity to lose her in the middle of the night and make his way back to Regina’s Castle. Snow did in fact find herself lost and displaced in the morning having lost most of her abilities to navigate with time. Not quite sure what to do, Snow set off in the direction Graham had been leading her. Before long night fell again, and Snow started hearing strange sounds she was not accustomed to. This set her into a run and before long she found herself slipping and sliding down an area where the land banked off. She found herself in what appeared to be a clearing. Nothing appeared dangerous so she simply curled up and cried herself to sleep.


	3. A Plan In Action

Flashback  
“Princess, the Queen wishes to speak to you at once”, a guard in dark armor said before turning on his heal and exiting the princess’s chambers. She made her way to the throne room where she knew the queen would be sitting.  
“What do you wish to speak with me regarding, Stepmother”, the princess said as she approached the dais.   
“Snow, you and I both know you don’t view me as a stepmother so spare me the pleasantries”, Queen Regina began imperiously. “I called you here as you are now 18. Normally, I would prepare you to assume the role of Queen in my eventual passing. However, you have demonstrated a lack of growth and maturity necessary to assume the role”.  
“What are you saying, Regina? You can’t just rob me of my birthright”, Snow shot back.  
“Unfortunately, I can under these circumstances”, Regina reposted before standing from her throne. “Guards”, she bellowed as two men in black armor entered the room. “Escort Princess snow from the castle grounds. She is hereby banished due to proving herself unfit to rule even after many lessons in etiquette and law”, Regina commanded as snow was carried out screaming.   
“I’ll see your end for this”, Snow shrieked. “You are nothing more than the Evil Queen and you always will be.” The last thing Snow saw was her former home fading away before she found herself shooting bolt upright. Snow found herself back in the clearing. It was daybreak, and with a sense of rejuvenation and determination, Snow decreed to the heavens. “I will end you for this Regina. You will pay”. Before a fit of hysterical laughter escaped the slowly unhinging princess. Snow attempted to scale the hill she fell from, but it was too steep so she set off in the opposite direction in hopes to find someone who could aid her. After many hours of aimless wandering she came upon a small cottage. Like the spoiled princess she was she simply invited herself in. she noticed right away that the so-called home was filthy, and therefore needed cleaning. She used a whistling technique she picked up during her time in the woods in order to summon the local fauna. She then tasked them to clean the home, so that it might be fit for a princess, or at least as fit for a princess as one could make a cottage. Eventually she made her way up to the second floor to see 7 beds. “What kind of beds are these?”, she scoffed. “And who names their children like this?”, she scoffed as she read the names Doc, Happy, Bashful, Dopey, Sleepy, Sneezy, Grumpy. She then sprawled out on the beds marked Doc, Happy, and Bashful. Meanwhile, deep in the caverns not far from the cottage, the 7 men who inhabited the cottage were toiling away in the mine in hopes of finding the largest and shiniest of diamonds. They didn’t know exactly what people saw in the shiny rocks, but after discovering them during a coal mining trip, they knew they would have food on the table for a long time to come. In spite of the value of these stones, they still preferred to live modestly in the cottage. They felt they had all these needed with the simplicity of life, and under Queen Regina’s rule they couldn’t have found themselves in a better situation. They often wondered what the neighboring kingdom was like under Queen Snow. As if fate was hearing their thoughts, the bell tolled signaling the end of their day. After the long trek home, they discovered several things that to them seemed out of place but were actually rather orderly. Dishes, were cleaned, countertops were spotless, laundry was hanging. Unfortunately, they also noticed footprints leading up to their bedroom.   
“What the hell is going on here?”. One of them asked as he gestured for the other six to follow him. When they finally made their way upstairs, they saw that something or someone was laid out across 3 beds. “boys, get the axes let’s kill this thing”, the dwarf from earlier ordered. The dwarves then raised their axes and were about to strike when they heard a soft feminine murmur as the thing or person under the blanket began to stir.   
“Wait, no”, another dwarf said. “that doesn’t sound like a monster. It sounds like a girl”. Sure enough. the blanket was removed to reveal Snow White herself. However, the dwarves were unaware of this. Since they were subjects in Regina’s Kingdom, they hadn’t set foot into the white kingdom and thus, did not realize who they were dealing with.  
“What are you doing in our house, Sister”, the leader of the dwarves roared. Snow assumed this was Grumpy given his disposition.   
“For your information”, she paused as she wasn’t sure if she was right about the name. “Grumpy?”, she questioned, which grumpy immediately answered with a nod. “I’m Snow White, queen of the White Kingdom. I was lured out of my castle by one of The Evil Queen’s Lackies and-. “ Snow was cut off by Grumpy who raised his axe in warning.  
“Watch it, Sister”, Grumpy warned. “You may be a queen of some other kingdom but Regina Is a great queen. Why would she run you out of your own kingdom?”, Grumpy questioned.   
“Regina ran me out of my kingdom because she didn’t want me to have what is rightfully mine, so here’s how this is going to go. I am going to stay here until someone comes for me, or this house, if you want to call it that becomes a pile of ash”, Snow White shot back.   
“I….I am pretty sure that would be an act of….um….war”, said a dwarf from behind grumpy who Snow assumed was Bashful.   
“I supposed you are right, Bashful, is it? I do need a place to stay and letting me die would also be an act of war I assure you”, Snow countered.  
“The only question on my mind is why would the queen want you out of your castle?”, Grumpy asked as a general question causing the dwarves to nod in agreement.   
“I don’t know.”, Snow responded in a flustered tone. “My daughter is there alone and I don’t know what she would want with her.”

Meanwhile in Regina’s castle, Graham had just returned. “Your Majesty, I have returned. The girl is lost in the woods of your kingdom as you commanded”, Graham reported.   
“Very good, huntsman”, Regina praised. “Now I can enact my plans for her daughter.   
“What are you planning, Your Majesty?”, Graham questioned as an older man walked into the room.  
“Yes, Sweetheart what are you planning”, the man asked?  
“Daddy”, Regina began in a calm and assuring tone. “I won’t harm her. You’ll actually find that upon my return I and by extension, you will be much happier. I just can’t have Snow there when I enter the castle. In the Interim Daddy, I need you to assume control of the kingdom until I return”, Regina concluded as she looked her father, Henry straight in the eye. Upon Henry’s nod of understanding, Regina proceeded to a door in the corner of the room that lead into the castle’s basement wherein she kept her spell books and potion equipment. “I’ve waited a long time for this”, she said as she began to search for the correct book. “I gathered ingredients, I practiced with measurements, and now I’m ready”, she said as she opened the book since she wanted to make sure she made the potion absolutely perfect. “Here we go. Baby’s breath petals to give me youth”. She dropped the petals into the vile. “Light from the daytime sky shall shroud my raiment in the beautiful blue of my youth”. Regina then poured a light blue vile into her vile of petals. “To soften my voice, a maiden’s song”, she then held the vile near a tube and turned a flame up as a pink potion bubbled up and a sweet song could be heard. “To soften my heart, water from a far-off oasis”. She then poured the liquid in and the potion turned sparkling blue. She then raised the vial to her lips and drank. She swallowed it then dropped the vial in disgust. “Gross! That tasted like peppermint vomit!”, she exclaimed before she felt the potion take effect. She slowly felt her skin soften with a tingling sensation, she felt the feeling in her throat and then spoke. “hm, my voice. It’s soft”, she said in her younger voice that left her long ago. Finally, her outfit as a queen was replaced with a bright baby blue dress. “This is perfect. Now she won’t be able to resist”.


	4. Newcomer

Emma spent this particular day as she did most days. She stared out the window of her chambers wishing to see the outside world. While she did wonder where her mother was, she did not miss her. She did not miss all the talk of evil queens, and she certainly did not miss the fairest of them all nonsense that used to come from her mother’s mouth. What she truly worried about was the safety and wellbeing of the kingdom. It had been a good 2 days since Snow’s disappearance, and the white knights were already beginning to worry. In her worry, she failed to notice a horse speeding toward the castle. A few minutes later, Yardley entered the room.   
“Your Highness, someone wishes to meet with you. She says she is a princess from the kingdom of the Four Peaks”, he said urgently. Nobody knew much about the kingdom of the Four Peaks except for the fact that they were rich in minerals, but not so rich in farm land being a mountainous kingdom. Nevertheless, when Yardley led Emma down to the front entrance, Emma was greeted by a sight so beautiful, the term fairest of them all suddenly made sense. Unbeknownst to Emma, it was the 18-year old version of the Evil Queen in her blue floor-length dress. The young queen found that in spite of herself, she was nervous. Her mirror had not been wrong, and to say she found Emma breath-taking was an understatement.   
“hello, Princess Emma”, Regina said in a soft tone while giving a small curtsey. “It is an honor to make your acquaintance”. Emma curtsied in return before taking Regina’s hand and kissing it.  
“The honor is mine Your Highness, but I don’t even know your name”, Emma said bashfully. Regina just smiled at this while quickly thinking. Regina had come up with a false name but she wasn’t sure whether to use it or just go by her real one. In the end, she went with the former option.  
“I am Lana, Princess of the Four Peaks”, Regina introduced. Emma smiled grabbing Regina’s hand and kissing it once more.   
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Princess Lana”, Regina blushed at this not realizing just how much of an affect Emma would actually have on her.  
“Please, Princess Emma just call me Lana”.   
“I will, but only if you call me Emma”, Emma reposted. Emma found herself lost in Regina’s eyes before she Remembered why she was there to begin with. “So, Lana, what did you want to meet with me about?”, Emma Asked wishing to get back on task. At that moment however, another guard came in urgently.  
“Your Highness, there are people gathering in the courtyard seeking an audience with the queen. We can’t delay court anymore.”  
“The Queen, is clearly still missing. Don’t we have a council to act in her place?”, Emma questioned looking to Yardley.   
“Sadly, no”, he replied with a shake of his head. “your mother dissolved the council in order to make sure her word was law. She was very meticulous about it too. Princess, you’ll have to take care of the kingdom until we find her. Ordinarily, power would remain with the reigning king and queen until they passed or abdicated their throne, but a queen wouldn’t normally take all power for herself. Therefore, in this urgent situation we need to override the current laws, and you shall assume control of the kingdom, Princess Emma”, Yardley finished looking to the young princess. Emma looked to those around her to see them nodding and smiling. Even Regina had something to say on this subject.  
“We may not know each other well yet Emma, but I have faith in you. You seem like a strong person. Being a princess myself I studied subjects like this. The best advice I can give you is this. Your word is law follow your heart and your subjects will follow you. With your permission, I will be there to support you”. Emma was touched at this. She had never had such support in 18 years. Especially from someone she just met. She pulled Regina in for a hug and whispered a soft ‘thank you, you have my permission’ into her ear. The four of them made their way to the courtyard only to be greeted by a throng of murmurs from a large crowd.   
“Everybody, listen up”, Yardley said in a booming voice “Queen Snow has been missing four two days, but fear not. Princess Emma will act as queen until she returns”. Emma gave a nervous smile as she took her seat on the throne in the center of the courtyard. Her guards stood behind the throne and Regina took her place in the crowd toward the front and gave an assuring smile. Now one questioned this as they saw Regina entering with Emma to begin with. First to step forward was a disheveled looking man with calluses on his hands.   
“Your Majesty, I request that you grant me a loan to help feed my family. With most of my crops and funds going to war efforts we shall surely starve”. This broke Emma’s heart. She had no idea why this war effort and heightened protection was even needed. The whole crowd went silent to see what she would do. Was she like her mother who would just send the man away? Would she grant him this loan? Emma became angry and the man backed away slowly in fear. Just then she heard a whisper of “Let your heart guide you”. She looked over to see that it was Regina who had said it and she let her anger take over.  
“That is enough”, she proclaimed in a regal tone she didn’t even know she had in her. “This ‘war’ has gone too far. I hereby reverse the taxes on crops and funds to pay for a war that is unnecessary. From this day forward we shall work together to restore glory to the kingdom. This so-called Evil Queen hasn’t done anything has she? Not since I have been alive yes?”, she was met with a group no from all involved. “Then I say we work to rebuild this kingdom and with you all by my side we shall undo all the wrong that my mother has done”. The crowd began to applaud including the still disguised Regina. “Now, how many of you had requests of the same nature as this man?”, Emma said as she was met with applause. “Then go home. We will be by your homes to return all excess crops and funds”. That put an end to what considered to be the shortest court on record. Emma then re-entered the castle hand in hand with Regina while whispering a soft thank you and kissing her on the cheek. This made the disguised queen blush fiercely. Emma spent the rest of the day in the study writing new decrees. By the end of the day, she had overturned the excessive taxes, and she brought most of the knights back from the field. Emma didn’t care if snow was still alive. As far as she was concerned, her mother abused her power, and Emma was going to rectify it with the support of her knights and a queen unbeknownst to her. That night, Emma ordered that Regina be allowed to sleep with her since she seemed taken with the other woman as she hoped Regina was with her. They then drifted off to sleep with arms around one another as they found safety near each other.


	5. Questions

The sun shone bright into Emma’s chambers. Emma herself was unfazed by this but Regina was certainly responsive to it. she slowly removed her arms from around Emma and shook her slightly to wake her.   
“Emma, wake up. It’s morning”, Regina said softly. Emma slowly rubbed her eyes.   
“La-Lana? What time is it?”, Emma asked in a groggy voice.   
“I am guessing about 6th hour just based on the sun”, Regina surmised. Emma just buried her face back in her pillow.  
“It’s early, Lana. Let me sleep”, Emma moaned.  
“We have things to do today, Emma. I came here for a reason, and I’m going to show you what that is today”, Regina assured with a smile.   
“Ugh, Lana. I don’t want to do anything political today”, Emma mumbled into her pillow. Regina just chuckled and smiled at the grump of an acting queen.  
“Come on, get, up we have things to do and discuss.”, Regina said as she pulled Emma up out of bed. After Emma and Regina did their morning routines, they went downstairs to the entrance of the castle. There, they were greeted by Yardley.   
Yardley”, Emma began. “I need you to summon the former council. No more of this absolute power garbage. Also, please have someone see to the collection of excess food and funds. I want that all ready for tomorrow”, Yardley just bowed with a smile knowing that these were the right steps to help rebuild the once- broken White kingdom.   
“Now, Emma I need you to go to the stables and wait there for me”, Regina said. It wasn’t a command, but rather a friendly request. Emma just shrugged it off and complied. About an hour later, Emma was standing in the stables near a black horse she had never seen before. Soon enough, she could hear someone walking over to her humming a happy melody. Emma took her eyes off the majestic horse she was observing only to discover that the singing came from none other than Regina. she could see that Regina was carrying a basket with a smile on her face.   
“what’s that for, Lana?”, Emma asked curiously, looking at the basket. Regina smiled softly at the other girl.   
“This is for us”, she responded proudly. “I am going to take you out for a day of fun”. Emma looked at her with a hard, skeptical expression on her face.   
“Alright, Lana what in the realm is going on here?”, Emma commanded. “Surely someone like you wouldn’t be interested in some random little prisoner of a so-called princess like me”. Regina’s smile was replaced with a more serious look in her eyes.   
“I sought you out because I heard you were the fairest of them all”. She was cut off by Emma shaking he head in frustration.  
“Oh no, not that fairest of them all garbage. Lana, you seriously just wanted me for my looks?”  
“No Emma, being fairest of them all does not just mean beauty. It means kindness as well. I was alone in my castle, and I wanted to find someone to love. I consulted someone as to who that could be. I asked for the fairest of them all. They said that at one time it was queen Snow of the white kingdom, but as time went on her fairness waned. Now I’m sure you notice that she didn’t become less beautiful. am I correct?” Emma considered this for a moment before responding.  
“no, not really. I mean she physically aged a wee bit, but not much”. Regina nodded at this in confirmation.  
“Right, and did you notice anything that did change?”, Regina asked as if she was fishing for an answer. It took a moment or two, but realization eventually dawned on Emma.  
“She lost her kindness. It gave way to vengeance”, Emma responded with a snap of her finger. Regina smiled at the fact that Emma understood what she was getting at.   
“Exactly!”, Regina exclaimed. “Emma, I just want true happiness and I think I could have that with you. At first, I just wanted a chance with the fairest of them all, but after meeting you now I am sure this could work”, Regina finished with pleading eyes.   
“I swear Lana, if you take even an ounce of advantage of me, I will personally take you by the hair and toss you into the dark kingdom single-handedly. I don’t care what title you have. You are my first real friend and possibly something more. I refuse to have that fall to pieces because I chose some heartless bitch.”. Regina actually looked afraid; I common side effect of the heart softening part of the potion. She had no idea this would a result of that choice. Perhaps reading the fine print would have been a wise idea. Emma just smirked and pointed. “I saw that look, Lana, and if you think I’m scary, the Dark Kingdom is supposedly ruled by an evil queen. Now I don’t know about you, but if she is characterized as evil, I would be fairly concerned”, Emma finished. She found that her ability to tell when people were lying was pinging but only in spirts as if a candle was struggling to stay lit. there was a deception coming from the other girl somewhere, but she didn’t know exactly what statements were false and exactly for what reason.   
“I’ve only ever heard talk of this evil queen”, Regina began. “But if there is any sort of power to your threat, I don’t think I want to meet her. What did she even do?”. Emma pondered long and hard about this question.  
“you know, I don’t even know. My mother always just spoke of her in anger, and then you have this increased-military nonsense. She hasn’t even made a move in all my 18 years of existence. That is why I am undoing all of these acts she put into place. Not only is it not good for the kingdom, but it makes us look like monsters in the eyes of other kingdoms”. Regina smiled placing a hand on Emma’s shoulder.  
“You know Emma, I know you haven’t been in the role of a queen that long, but you seem to have a natural talent for it. Most young queens have lessons, but you seem to take to it like a swan to its beauty”. Regina just smiled at this very thought before turning back to the stables. “Well, Miss Swan, we have been standing around talking long enough. If you still want to spend this day with me, I would be more than happy to do so”.  
“I am still a little leery about this, but since you haven’t done anything that I should be worried about, barring the whole fairest of them all thing. Then I will allow you this day to show me a good time of fun. Just remember my warning”. Regina just smiled at the young princess with a chuckle.  
“Yes, Ma’am. Now, have you ridden a horse before, or are we going to have to share?” Emma just shook her head and her face fell at the embarrassing nonverbal confession.  
“No, sadly I haven’t. I know that is just sad and preposterous. Isn’t it? A princess should know how to ride”. Regina took on a serious expression as she looked at Emma.   
“No, Emma it isn’t bad at all. I have heard that you spent your life a prisoner of your own castle. Therefore, you weren’t allowed to learn these things. I don’t judge you for that”. Another partial ping. Emma could not figure out this situation. Especially when she considered that Regina wasn’t exactly armed with any weapons physical or, to Emma’s knowledge, emotional. “Anyway, I am assuming you don’t exactly have a horse so we can share the one I came in on”, Regina said as she pulled Emma over to a dark horse. “this is thunder. Named for his speed and the sound his hooves make on the ground”, Regina proclaimed proudly.  
“I don’t know, Lana he seems dangerous”, Emma responded with fear. Regina just smiled as she mounted up.   
“Nonsense, I clearly got here in one piece. I promise we won’t go any faster than a walk. I didn’t want to lose the basket or my wonderful companion anyway. I also enjoy seeing the sights”. Emma just smiled at this. She took the basket from Regina and put it into a saddle bag. Regina didn’t normally ride with a saddle but she anticipated this very scenario, so she made the exception to help keep Emma safe. She then reached her hand out for Emma to help her onto the horse. “hang onto me tightly, Emma we will go nice and slow, but I just want to make sure all goes well”, Regina said softly before she lightly kicked Thunder’s sides and started him walking. Emma looked up as they found their way into the forest. The sun shone thought the opening in the canopy and it was an absolutely breathtaking sight. She then followed the rays down and noticed how they shined off the young girl’s dark brown hair, making her appear even more beautiful as she silently commanded the glorious, if not somewhat startling steed. Emma didn’t say anything so as not to distract Regina, but Regina seemed as though she knew perfectly well what she was doing. “Nature is beautiful isn’t it, Emma?”, Regina said without breaking her concentration.   
“it is indeed, Lana”, Emma replied dreamily. “I especially love it at night listening to the crickets and cicadas”. This made Regina sigh wistfully. “And I love the sound of the rain, thunder, and lightning”, Emma continued. Conversation continued about their passions and hobbies, of which Emma didn’t have many. They both found themselves lost in each other’s company, but Regina still seemed to be able to navigate and keep thunder under control as though she had been doing it in her sleep for years. Before long, Regina brought thunder to a stop near a lake, and situated near said lake were trees with some of the most beautiful red apples Emma had ever seen.   
“Lana, this place is beautiful”, Emma said breathlessly. She then dismounted with mild success and just admired everything from a closer range. “What kingdom is this?”. Regina chuckled before responding  
“We’re still in the white kingdom. Don’t worry, dear”, Regina said with a smile before continuing. As a royal, I had to study maps as part of my lessons. I learned my way around all the surrounding kingdoms. The White Kingdom, The Dark Kingdom Stefan’s kingdom, and even the forbidden fortress. As if I would ever need to go there”. There it was again right at the end of the statement Emma’s lie detector went off again, but Emma just couldn’t help herself. She just snuggled into Regina who just wrapped her arms around Emma. Emma then proceeded to hold up her apple to Regina’s lips and allowed her to take a bite. “mmm, Honeycrisp, my favorite”, hearing that come rom the other girl made Emma smile before taking another bite. They went back and forth until the apple was eaten down to its core. Regina then ran over to Thunder reaching into his saddlebag and pulling out the basket. She then sauntered back over with a smile on her face and sat right back down next to the girl whose heart she was ever so close to winning. She sat back down next to the other girl and opened the basket. Inside Emma saw bread, fried, chimera, and goat cheese. Emma just smiled brightly.  
“How did you know this was my favorite dish”, Emma gasped out. Regina just smiled.  
“I asked the cooks in the kitchen. I wanted to make this special for us”. Regina then watched as Emma fashioned the delicacy into a sandwich, something Regina had never seen. She just looked at Emma strangely which caused Emma to become defensive.   
“When you find yourself lonely with nothing to do, you tend to get creative”, Emma responded in turn. Regina just nodded and decided to follow suit. She found that she enjoyed the creation greatly. Before long, Regina found that the after-effects of eating were taking affect and she let herself fall into Emma’s arms. Emma, having clocked more sleep than necessary over the years, just smiled and ran her fingers through the other girl’s hair as she began to dream.

Flashback

Regina sat up in her chambers crying, and she wanted to scream. She had been Married to Leopold for nearly three months, and the sting of it was still there. This was not a choice she made, but rather one Cora made for her. Cora had killed Daniel after having accepted Leopold’s marriage proposal on Regina’s behalf. Now, she was miserable crying every night after the king was finished with her. Regina longed for a simple life. Just her, her horse, her stable boy Daniel, and a little family. One day, Snow had found out about this and believing she was doing right by the other girl, she told Regina’s mother, which resulted in Daniel’s murder. Snow was still rather insufferable, refusing her lessons and choosing only to remain in her own little world. This had worried the young queen in addition to the sadness she was already feeling. This was just another night of crying herself to sleep and praying for some form of salvation to no one in particular.  
“Please help me”, she begged in a small weak voice. Almost as if on cue, a blue light had shone through the window and, Regina looked up at this.   
“Who…...who are you?’, she asked in surprise. She had never seen someone or something so beautiful and glorious. The fairy smiled.  
“I, sweet Regina, am Reul Ghorm; The Original Power, but everyone mostly refers to me as the Blue Fairy. I have heard your wish, and I am here to offer you hope”.   
“how can you do that? My mother forced me into this, and she has powerful magic. What can you possible offer me?”, Regina asked with uncertainty.  
“A prophecy I offer you just be patient and stay on the path of light and this prophecy will be fulfilled”. Regina smiled, eager to hear more. Blue sensed this and so, she continued speaking. “A queen, lost and broken shall be tempted toward the dark. She shall be truly happy if she’ll chose to hark. From the union 8 years pass, she’ll seek a love to forever last. With the fairest of them all, but the queen in white must fall”. Blue then disappeared.


	6. Under Arrest

Regina went to sleep that night with a bright and shining smile on her face. Because she knew that she was successful in winning Emma’s heart. As a young maiden, she had toured many a kingdom with her mother Cora and her father Henry. She now knew this was all part of Cora’s plan to make her a good obedient queen. Cora quickly dispatched Regina’s lover, Daniel after Snow let slip about their affair believing she was doing what was right. Regina had been good to her so she wanted to be good to Regina in return. However, this changed after Regina Married Leopold because she saw the behavior snow continued to exhibit day in and day out. Eventually, she had learned of the prophecy from the Blue fairy and was determined to stay on the path of good no matter how much she was tempted. She didn’t expect that she would fall for the fairer sex but one look at Emma and she knew that all the trust, faith, and patience had paid off. What she didn’t know however, is that her good fortune would be short lived. She woke up before Emma early one morning, and as usual, she removed the amulet she had been wearing for the sake of bathing. This amulet was necessary to keep the spell active when it was worn. This was Common for Regina as she and Emma usually went in to bathe at separate times, so Regina could take off the amulet and bathe successfully with no issue. However, this time there was an issue. Emma had awakened on her own to discover that the young girl she had come to know was not by her side. She went to the bathing chambers not knowing the other girl would be in there, so when she entered, she was not expecting to see an older looking woman with more hair. Emma gasped in this got Regina’s attention.  
“Emma?”, Regina said in her normal lower voice. This caused Emma to scream and run.  
“Guards!! Please come quickly! Lana is missing and there is a strange woman in my bathing chambers!”, Emma exclaimed. She was still wearing a dressing gown as she ran in with the guards. Regina turned around thankfully dressed in her queenly raiment.  
“Emma, I’m sorry”, Regina attempted to placate. Emma put her hand up to stop the other woman from speaking.   
“Who the hell are you and what did you do with Princess Lana”, Emma ground out in anger. For the first time, Regina could feel Emma’s fury at having been deceived. She had then realized that there was in fact no Princess Lana. Or at least if there was, this stranger was impersonating her. All the pings and partial pings had made a certain degree of sense. “I knew it. my superpower was right. You were lying. Now I want the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth”. The guards knew exactly who they were dealing with, but they feared with Emma in this state she would be volatile just like her mother was on a bad day. “I was just starting to find happiness, and I could have had more than just a friend, but you had to come in and take her from me”, Emma shrieked. 18 years of loneliness had flooded back to her in that instant, and this intruder was going to be punished for what Emma thought she had done. “Guards! I want her”, Emma said as she pointed to Regina. “to stand trial for impersonating someone of Royal blood”. Regina knew what she had done was wrong, but she hoped that the truth would help. If it didn’t reverse the situation completely. It was at least cool the fire in Emma’s heart. Emma looked around, and when she saw nothing was happening, she became furious. “Guards, what the hell is going on? I said seize her”, Emma shouted. It was Yardley who then stepped forward  
“My Queen”, he said with a bow. “We can’t level those charges because she isn’t impersonating a royal. She is one. Just not the one you thought she was”, Yardley said calmly knowing Emma would best respond to this. “Emma, this is Queen Regina of the Dark Kingdom”. Emma’s jaw dropped at this realizing this had to be the infamous evil queen.   
“You’re the evil queen?”, Emma said in shock. Regina just said nothing in response. Emma couldn’t believe what was going on. She wasn’t exactly sure how to treat the situation either. Then she got an idea. “I want her to stand trial for crimes against Queen Snow and the White Kingdom”, the guards and knights were more willing to comply with this request since they themselves weren’t sure what was going on, and these charges might yield some results. Before long Emma, Regina, the guards, and the former council made their way to the throne room. Emma walked to the dais and took her place on the throne. “Nova, please come forth”, Emma beseeched. Just then, a fairy appeared.   
“Queen Emma, what do you ask of me?”, Nova asked before thinking harder. “Oh, I see. You need to conduct a trial against queen Regina”. Emma Nodded.  
“Yes, and just one person with the ability to detect deception isn’t enough”. Nova nodded knowing what Emma was trying to ferret out. Nova took her please near the council. Emma sat down on her throne unsure of exactly how to proceed. She just focused on what she wanted to know before she began. “Queen Regina of the Dark Kingdom, you stand accused of crimes against Queen Snow White and the White Kingdome. Sir Jiminy, please bring the scroll”. A knight came forward with the scroll containing the decrees of the kingdom.   
Sir Jiminy then spoke while holding the scroll to Regina. Regina had seen proceedings like this before so she placed her right hand on the scroll. “Queen Regina, do you vow that what you say is true, only true, and unquestionably true”, he spoke calmly.  
“I do”, Regina replied solemnly with a bowed head. She wasn’t sure what was coming, but she knew she had fallen for Emma just as the prophecy said would happen. She didn’t want to lose that, so she only focused on telling the truth in hopes that Emma was nothing like her mother.   
“Okay, first question. Is your name Regina?”, Emma asked. A no-brainer for Regina to answer.  
“Yes”, she said confidently.  
“Are you the Evil Queen?”, Emma sked  
“No”, Regina responded. A partial ping on Emma’s superpower as well as Nova’s.   
“What the hell?”, Emma asked puzzled. Nova realized the issue and spoke up.   
“My Queen, The reason that is only a partial lie is because while she may be the one they call the Evil Queen, she doesn’t see herself as such and neither do her subjects. Only Snow and small portions of the White Kingdom. You need to ask more straightforward questions based on facts alone”, Nova urged.  
“Okay, understood”, Emma responded. “Have you ever killed anyone?”, Emma asked  
“No”, Regina responded. No reaction from Emma or Nova. This had to be a true statement, but it didn’t make sense to Emma. Her grandfather was dead and Snow blamed Regina. this was all Emma had ever known, so she needed the full story.  
“How did my grandfather die?”, Emma asked with some fear of what the answer might be. She looked at Regina expectantly who became angry with fire in her eyes. “Is there something you wish to confess?”, Emma urged.  
“My mother arranged for him to be killed”, she said with Venom in her voice. “She wanted me to be sole ruler, Em-ma. I wanted none of this, do you hear? None!”, she yelled. “aside from that potion, my mirror, and one small prophecy based on a wish, I wanted nothing to do with magic or political power.”, she relaxed and began to cry genuine tears. “But I love and care for people. I would never harm anyone who didn’t harm others”, Regina finished. No reaction again, which again didn’t make sense.   
“Then why did you run my mother out of her rightful home, and then when she found home again you tricked her into leaving it, and now she’s missing”, Emma asked in a soft voice. She had no will to sound queenly at this point.  
“I never banished her, Emma. When she turned 18, there came a day when she came to me with talk of preparing her to rule the kingdom as her father said would one day happen. I had observed her over 8 years shirking he lessons and responsibilities in favor of frivolity. I told her I did not feel ready for her to take the throne, and she would need the proper education. She then threatened my end and called me the-…. “, Regina stopped unable to say the awful nickname.   
“Evil queen”, Emma finished in understanding, causing Regina to simply nod. “What about when you tricked her into leaving this home. I was made aware that someone came on your behalf for supposed negotiations, and she never returned. Then somehow, you show up at just the right time. Explain that.”  
“I did it not only for the good of the white kingdom, but so that you and I could be happy. She never would have let me be with you would she have?”, Regina enquired.  
“Maybe because you’re what she considers evil and my step grandmother”, Emma countered.  
“I may be your step grandmother, but I did not choose that marriage. It was forced on me, so I wanted to find my own love. I was told that I would find the fairest of them all, and the white queen would have to fall in order for that to happen. Ask yourself this. Has the white kingdom not seen great reform with her gone?”, Regina finished. This caused Emma to ponder for a moment before speaking.   
“Guards, take her to the dungeon”, I need time to decide what to do with her. The guards comply and carry Regina way. She knows what she did was wrong, and thankful she is at least being kept alive. She now waits in the dungeon cold and alone wondering what Emma will do with her. She wonders if she has even the most remote of chances to heal their relationship.


	7. Enter the Red Knight

Deep in the dark dungeon of the white kingdom, the only sound that could be heard were the silent sobs of the broken and betrayed queen. Rightfully imprisoned, but promised a happy ending Regina didn’t know what to do. “Reul Ghorm, Blue, please help me. I tried to do good but I get punished for this”, Regina sobbed out hoping her fairy godmother would hear her. Just then she heard a voice, Blue’s voice speaking a poem.  
“When the sunlight hits your eyes, the door will open a challenge will rise. Find the truth and stay in the light, and everything shall turn out right”. Regina looked up to the barred window and say a star twinkle as if winking and Regina smiled at this, knowing that all would be well. Meanwhile, up in the chambers where the council met, Emma and the rest of the staff met to discus what to do with Regina. a few guards stayed in the front of the castle waiting the impending return of the remaining knights and soldiers.   
“Well, as we saw from the trial today, she was truthful about what she did”, Emma said continuing the conversation that had been taking place between the unsure council. They agreed silently save for one elderly man.   
“she still deceived the queen and lured her away”, he said.  
“Is that honestly a bad thing, Clarence? Snow White lead us into near poverty over a war that didn’t need to happen, and it’s not as if Regina was actively making a move against the white kingdom. The only thing she did was get a dictator out of the way so Emma could step up and try her hand at ruling and she’s doing a fine job”, Yardley replied with a smile at Emma. Agreement was heard throughout the chamber. Just then, the 2 guards from the front entrance entered.   
“Your Majesty, the remaining military forces have returned”, One of them said. This caused a general chatter throughout the room before they made their way to the front to see a large army marching toward the castle with the White kingdom Insignia on their shields. After they did their halt, rest, and helmet drills, Emma ran up to her father whose face she somehow recognized.  
“Dad”, she said excitedly running toward the man. David smiled proudly recognizing his daughter.  
“Emma, it’s great to see you again”, David said after several years out in the field. He had only gotten the message explaining that snow was missing, and that Emma was acting as queen for the time being, but nothing relating to the developments with Regina, so Emma filled him in.  
“Dad, I managed to undo all the damage mother did. We clearly didn’t need this war so this is why I sent for everyone to come home, but not all the news are god. It turns out Queen Regina is responsible for Mother’s disappearance.”. David Gasped at this and his eyes turned to fury. “Stranger still is that when we questioned her, she was found to be truthful and her motives were good”, Emma concluded.  
“I’m proud of you, Emma”, David said before growling in anger. “That stinking Evil Queen, first chance I get I’ll slice her in half”, David said angrily.   
“Dad is that really necessary?’, Emma replied. “I said she was truthful, so what if we made her duel one of the knights for her freedom”, she reasoned. “she wins she walks”, Emma said before looking at her father curiously. “Dad, do you think the Red Knight is up for a challenge? He is clearly our best warrior”, Emma wondered.   
“Considering how much combat we saw out there, which was next to none, I would say the Red knight should have no issue”, David responded. It was therefore decided that Regina would duel the legendary Red knight of the white kingdom, named for his skills in battle and consequently how much blood he managed to spill. Eventually he was given red armor to fit his title. It was therefore decided that the Red Knight would be Regina’s opponent. Emma then made her way down to the dungeons to speak with Regina.  
“Regina, get up!”, Emma said imperiously so as not to step out of her role in front of the other queen. “It has been decided that you will face our best knight, the Red Knight in a duel. If you win you return to your kingdom and if you lose…. well that part is self-explanatory”, Emma decreed.  
“Emma, please”, Regina begged. “I didn’t mean any harm”.  
“Aww isn’t that sweet, The Evil Queen begging for mercy”, Emma said in a patronizing manner. “Guards, see to it she is fitted with armor and a weapon. The duel will commence in one hour, and make sure she doesn’t run away”. Emma then walked away to speak with the Red knight. About an hour passed before the duel would begin. It was decided not to draw a crown in due to the emotional state the affair had put Emma in. the castle staff and the army themselves were enough for the arena. A guard urged Regina out into the field. She was wearing black armor with a broad sword attached to her waist. The Red Knight was using a sword like none ever seen before almost as if it were crafted by magic itself. The was even evident when his blade hummed when they performed the swordsman’s salute by swinging their swords in a downward motion. There were no indicators as to who this person was, so this made sense to Regina in a way. “Find the truth”, she thought to herself perhaps this meant she had to unmask the Red Knight. The duel soon began with fighters get into a sort of rhythm. Regina, however had no intention of killing, only disarming, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Emma. Even to Regina though it seemed like the legendary Red Knight was holding back. Regina saw an opening she needed and before he knew it, the Red Knight was on the ground. Regina took the opportunity to remove his helmet.  
“Prince David?”, she said quietly before addressing the crowd. “I surrender. I refuse to kill the father of the woman I love”. The crowd was surprised at this to say the least. Emma approached Regina and smiled before pulling her into a kiss.  
“I knew you wouldn’t disappoint me, My Queen”. At this, Regina was in shock.   
“This whole thing was a test?”, she asked in shock.  
“Not the questioning, but after that we soon decided that you were being truthful. We just wanted to be sure. My father was informed of the plan and we asked him to don his Red Knight persona. Only a heartless evil queen would have killed him”, Emma said looking at Regina with a smile.  
“It was also decided that snow needs to die. She has pushed this kingdom too far”, David said.  
“Dad, I thought we agreed she was to either give up the kingdom to me or die”, Emma corrected.  
“Miss Swan, I think what he means is there is now way in hell she is giving it up so we are probably going to have to kill her anyway”, Regina chimed in. David raised an eyebrow at the nickname which Regina happened to noticed so she explained. “Apparently someone doesn’t realize just how beautiful she is, so in that respect she is like a swan”, Regina clarified, and David nodded in understanding. He smiled as Emma put an arm around her queen. It warmed his heart that in spite the things Regina did, Emma was willing to forgive her. True love really did shine through on them.


	8. Emma Meets the Father

A few days had gone by since the trial, and in that time several things were happening. Snow had been making servants and sideshow performers out of the dwarves. Once she figured out that they mined diamonds, she planned to take them all for her own once she found a way back to the white kingdom. She chose to make the dwarves none the wiser to this fact. The dwarves were getting to a point where her threats of war meant nothing to them. They had even wondered if her own kingdom would even do that, considering how she behaved. At one point, they were under the impression the white kingdom would want her dead. Regardless of these thoughts, they were going to bide their time and see what happened, so they could be sure they were doing things right. Unbeknownst to them, there was in fact talks of killing the tyrant queen.   
Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of white, David had grown impressed with his daughter. She was running the kingdom perfectly with the support of Regina. the tour to redistribute crops and funds was a success with Emma and Regina aiding the citizens who in turn sang their praises. David spent most time in the background just smiling and realizing just how wrong he was about the other woman. He eventually decided it was time he had a certain talk with Regina. One day, as Regina and Emma were returning from a riding lesson that Regina was giving Emma, David was waiting in the entrance hoping to catch the dark queen.   
“Regina”, David called out as soon as he saw her. He decided to simply use her name because at that point, he wasn’t dealing with the queen. He was dealing with the woman courting his daughter. It was for this reason that he felt he had the upper hand.   
“Yes?”, Regina responded with slight worry. Though she was a queen, she truly treasured what she had with Emma, and as David was Emma’s father, she knew he could easily take that away from her. She could not do anything in the situation to cause harm or trouble. She didn’t want to start down the path of darkness. She wanted to stay good and pure for Emma.   
“We need to talk”, David said before walking off expecting Regina to follow. She and Emma both began to follow when he turned around. “I’m sorry Emma, but this is just between Regina and myself”, he said as he continued with Regina following hi to his private sitting room outside his and snow’s shared chambers. He sat down in one of the chairs and motioned for Regina to do the same. “Alright, Regina. I know for certain you are not the evil queen. That is obviously a title my wife gave you. In the past few days, I have seen you and Emma do wonderful things for each other and this kingdom. However, I would not be a decent father if I didn’t ask you this. What exactly are your intentions with my daughter?”. David looked at Regina expectantly. This did not inherently frighten her, but she had grown to care for if not outright love Emma, and she didn’t want to lose her.   
“My intentions are what anyone would want for their lover. I want to care for and love her. To show her that in spite of the loneliness she felt in the past 18 years she is loved. I admired her from a far as she grew, and it broke my heart to see her in the state she was in.”, Regina finished solemnly. David nodded and smiled softly, but then he remembered something.  
“Why did you trick Snow into leaving the castle? I am not saying you are evil if that is the only real thing you are guilty of, but why did you need to go to those lengths just for Emma?”, David question in his serious tone.  
“It wasn’t just for Emma”, Regina replied softly. “I didn’t want to see a good kingdom come apart due to the actions of an inexperienced child. I knew she might due this the minute I heard that she married you. You have to remember, David that I was there to help raise Snow and despite my best efforts, her father prevented me from doing what I was brought there to do”. David raised an eyebrow at this. “Yes, I was brought there because Leopold simply wanted a wife for himself to give him an heir, and he wanted a mother for snow. Despite this however, he contradicted me when I tried to take a firm hand with her about her education to rule the kingdom. I knew exactly what would happen if she ever assumed a throne. When she found you, I knew what would happen?”  
“That would make sense”, David nodded in understanding. “and it would also make sense as to why you chose Emma. She told me about your dark times and the prophecy”, David confessed causing Regina to raise an eyebrow in astonishment. “She also said she was okay with all this, and Regina, I must say this. Despite anything snow may have told me, what I have seen of you these past few days just shows me that you are worthy of her. If one day you should want to marry her, you do in fact have my blessing.”, David concluded causing Regina’s jaw to drop. She never saw this coming and she couldn’t be happier. David then reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small box. “this is my mother’s wedding ring. She gave it to me before she died. I proposed to snow with this, and I suppose it was fate that she didn’t where it the day she went missing. I want you to take this and make Emma the happiest woman in the world”, David said seriously before pausing to add something in gest. “because if you don’t, that will be considered an act of war”, he finished with a chuckle. Regina chuckled right back. “now this all being said, we do need to take care of Snow. She cannot go on to continue ruining this kingdom or our family”. This caused Regina to smile when he said ‘our family’. “She must be put to death before any happiness can truly take place.” Regina was taken aback by the idea that David would want to kill his own wife, but she knew he was right. They both knew Emma was the rightful queen and Snow would never step down so she therefore needed to die. “the only problem is going to be finding her”, he said.  
“I know someone who can help find her. He’s a genie who foolishly wished himself into a mirror at my castle in a futile attempt to be closer to me”, she said. This caused David to nod. They both decided they would go find Emma to tell her of the plan. Eventually they found her in her rom worried. After a knock on the door Emma looked up from the book she was reading.   
“You may enter”, she said and soon the door was opened by David followed by Regina. “Regina, Dad, what are you both doing here? Dad please tell me I can continue to court her”, Emma pleaded. David just smiled at this.  
“Relax, Princess”, David said with a smile. “You shall continue courting Regina, but we need to talk about your mother. I think the three of us know what needs to happen and Regina has graciously offered to take us to her castle where her mirror can help us find Snow”, David replied as he turned to Regina.   
“How soon do you suppose we can get there?”, he questioned. Regina simply smiled.   
“With the right number of horses, we can be there by tomorrow”, Regina said as she turned to Emma and beamed. “Emma, this means that tomorrow, you will also be meeting my father since I will be asking him to come along”. Emma just smiled nervously. “Don’t worry, my love. My father Henry is a very kind soul”, Regina assured. David went to find one of the servants and told him to have the stable boys read seven horses and the carriage. He also instructed the servant to call for the coachman. Once all the preparations were made, they all settled into the carriage and were off to Regina’s castle.  
Eventually, morning fell the next day, and everyone was excited to be out of the carriage. Before long, the large spires of the castle could be seen. As they got nearer, Henry could be seen waiting for them with a smile.   
“Daddy”, Regina said as she ran to her father and pulled him into a hug.   
“Regina, darling”, Henry exclaimed before turning to David. “Prince David it is wonderful to see you again”, he said excitedly.  
“Actually, Sir, it’s just David. Snow stripped me of my royal title”. Henry just shook his head before turning to Emma.  
“And who is this?”, Henry asked with a smile. Emma just lowered her head; afraid she would say something wrong. Regina could sense this, and she spoke up.  
“Daddy, this is Emma, future queen of the White Kingdom. This is why I went there. I was given a prophecy that I might one day court her, and she makes me very happy”, Regina gushed placing an arm around Emma, who returned the gesture.   
“I am honored to meet you, Emma. Please make sure you continue to treat Regina with respect, and make her happy”, Henry said.  
“I will, Sir”, Emma responded.  
“Please, Emma. Call me Henry”, he replied with a smile.  
“Okay, Henry. Yes, Regina is a wonderful woman, and I couldn’t be any happier or luckier”, Emma said before they all went into the castle. They then went into a sitting room where Henry had quickly ordered one of the servants to get a fire going in the hearth. They then began to talk about the plan to kill snow. Henry was opposed to it at first, but he agreed after the severity of the situation was explained. He only did so under the condition that the killing was silent discrete and humane. It was decided after perusing a book of potions that a potion would be used to cause the drinker to dream before slowly fading off into death. They wanted to make sure there was no cure, which there thankfully was not. It was decided that the potion would be placed into one of Regina’s honey crisp apples, much to Regina’s dismay. Reluctantly, she began the potion with Emma’s aid in her secret room.


	9. No More Snow

Deep in the secret room within Regina’s castle, Emma and Regina were diligently brewing the potion to bring about the salvation of the White Kingdom. Regina watched on and smiled as Emma seemed to take to potion making like a swan to water.   
“Boil cauldron boil, boil cauldron boil. In your depths I see pain and blight, for one who threatens the kingdom white. let us do this deed tonight. Boil cauldron, boil”, Emma chanted. Regina watched on in horror not knowing how her fair swan could say such things about her own mother.   
“Emma, what are you doing? That potion doesn’t have an incantation.”, Regina asked with a raised eyebrow. “Also, that sounded evil. You don’t have an evil bone in your body, Fair One.”   
“Sorry, My Queen. Eighteen years of being kept in a tour can do that to you. Especially when your mother brings your kingdom to the point of destruction.”, Emma chuckled.  
“Don’t worry, Miss Swan, we are going to undo all of it tonight”, Regina assured, giving Emma a kiss on the cheek. The potion soon turned green and it was time to dip the apple. After Emma did this, Regina applied a magical powder to turn the apple from green to red. This allowed the potion to remain discrete. It was then decided the apple would be baked into a pie. Since Emma didn’t know how to cook this was up to Regina. another effect of the potion was that it was able to spread through the pie with the addition of heat while being contained. Eventually, the pie was finished, and it was time to find snow white. “Genie in the Magic Mirror, where does Snow White make her home?”, Regina asked.   
“Snow White resides in the cottage of the seven dwarves, reachable by nightfall”, The Mirror responded. Regina gathered everyone together and summoned a carriage. She also called for a prison wagon. With everything in place, they set off for the cottage.  
Meanwhile, Snow was busy waiting for the dwarves to prepare a meal for her. This was the norm every night and morning since the seven men were intimidated by the spoiled queen and her threats. She had threatened them with her large army, so writing to the acting king was out of the question. All that being said however, Snow looked up as she heard the unmistakable clip cop of horse hooves and the rolling of wooden wheels coming toward the cottage. Snow also noticed another carriage behind the first. She recognized it as a prison wagon, just as she recognized both these carriages as belonging to the dark kingdom.   
“Oh, Dwarves”, Snow sang out. “Looks like someone knows you’ve been keeping me here, and look. They brought a carriage to take you to your new home”, she said in a sickly-sweet tone.   
“If that’s what you want to call it”, Grumpy murmured. Before long, a knock was heard. Doc went over to open the door to reveal Regina.  
“Your Majesty”, Doc said as he and the other dwarves bowed low. Snow however refused to bow. She then saw her daughter and brightened up, failing to notice what Emma was carrying.   
“Emma, I’m so proud of you. You captured the evil queen”, Snow exclaimed, causing Regina to simply shake her head.   
“No, Mother. She is not the evil queen. Her name is Regina, and I did not capture her. The truth is, Mother, she showed me what kind of queen I can really be. She also showed me what it means to have a friend who cares about me. She also showed me true love. That is right, Mother. I love Queen Regina, but you know what else she showed me?”, Emma asked the last part as a rhetorical question. Snow raised an eyebrow unsure of what her daughter would say. “She showed me how to bake, and we made this special pie just for you.”   
“I was just about to have dinner but I suppose a small sample of something you made for me would not hurt”, Snow mused as she set the pie on the table and grabbed a fork. She slowly took a bite and found that the room began to spin. Eventually, snow fell off the stool she was sitting on and hit the ground. Emma just looked down with a smirk.   
“Good night, Mother”, Emma cooed in a sickly-sweet tone that made Regina beam. The dwarves waited and wondered what would happen until five minutes later, at which point snow stopped breathing. There was much celebration and confessions of what snow had done. Regina then felt it was time to ask an important question. She then looked over to Emma and smiled.   
“May I have your attention, please”, Regina called out silencing everyone in the room. She did not believe in using her queenly power for miniscule things. The celebrating stopped and Regina could see David and Henry heading toward the cottage. They noticed it was quiet so they said nothing. “I know that an execution is a strange event to follow up with something like this, but it is kind of fitting, since the person who was eliminated kept many people including myself from true happiness. Now that she is gone however, I think this is the perfect time.”, Regina said as she walked to Emma. She then pulled out the ring she was given by David and everyone smiled. Emma however, just gasped. “Emma, I know it hasn’t been that long, and some of that time I was living as a woman named Lana. Lana was just a name and an appearance I took on to ensure none of Snow’s influence effected your desire to get to know me. Of course, you knew all of this but Emma, I truly love you whether it was prophesied or not. I do not usually bow, but there is no other way to do this”, Regina said as she got down on one knee. “Emma of the White Kingdome, will you marry me?”, she proposed Emma just cried and smiled. “Yes of course I will, My Queen”, Emma responded as Regina slipped the ring on Emma’s finger. The wedding took place three months later, and at the request of Regina, the ceremony was officiated by the Blue Fairy herself. After the wedding, Blue then offered one wish. Emma and Regina decided to wish for a child, and 9 months of Regina carrying him a young prince Henry was born. Regina and Emma named him Henry David in honor of their fathers. In that time, it was also decreed that the councils would join together and the kingdoms would unite to form the Enchanted Kingdom, refusing to fly either flag of the past. David was glad to allow his daughter and her queen to rule because he knew the kingdom was in good hands. Indeed, the kingdom did become the strongest and most powerful kingdom in Mist Haven. The case in this story as was the case in many stories before it…….

They all lived happily ever after.

THE END.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is dedicated to the members of what I affectionately call Team Fairest. I am the writer, Serena S. it was my idea to bring this story to life, and there were a few times where I didn’t want to write, but I pressed on. To my beta, Serena K. Your work on this in addition to all the radio work you do just shows how strong and loyal you are as my friend dedicated to making everything look nice. Kayleigh, as my cheerleader I only asked one thing of you. Be honest, and you have given me that in spades. To the final member of the team, Ces, your creativity will make this thing shine. I therefore dedicate this story to perseverance, loyalty, honesty, and creativity.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Fairest Of Them All [Art]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20501231) by [cesibear](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cesibear/pseuds/cesibear)


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